Annual Report for the 2013-2014 Academic Year

Introduction

The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School accomplished more than ever before in academic year 2013-2014. The spring 2014 Rappaport Roundtable series, with the nine candidates for Governor of Massachusetts and two candidates for Attorney General, was an unqualified success, drawing hundreds of students, faculty, and community members to the Law School and attracting unparalleled media attention. The Rappaport Fellowship Program in Law and Public Policy continued to thrive, as did the other public service fellowships connected with the Center: for example, a record 15 students received funding from the Consumer Law Public Service Fellowship to work in non-profit and government consumer protection organizations. Eighty-two students performed nearly 10,000 hours of pro bono work through the Rappaport Center’s Pro Bono Program during the academic year alone, and we project that students will log well over 10,000 additional hours during the summer of 2014. Public policy commentaries generated by students in Rappaport Center Faculty Director Professor Alasdair Roberts’s Law and Public Policy course and by Rappaport Fellows, and activities such as the Center’s “Memo to the Mayor” competition, contributed to the discourse on vital state and local public policy issues. And the Center continued to serve as an essential resource for the Law School by advising hundreds of Suffolk Law students and alumni about public service and public interest opportunities; by placing them in pro bono positions, internships, and fellowships; and by serving as a bridge between our students and government and public interest employers.

Notably, the Center accomplished these results with fewer resources than ever before.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Maurica Thomas JD ’15, and Dean Nelson

2 | P a g e

. Former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger chaired the Rappaport Center Advisory

Board, replacing Jerry Rappaport, for the 2013-2014 academic year, bringing renewed energy to the Board. Elyse Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital, and Bill Walczak, Vice President of External Relations, Shawmut Design and Construction, and a candidate for mayor of Boston in 2013, joined the board in May 2014. In addition, the Rappaport Center received a gift of $10,000 from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, courtesy of Advisory Board member Michael Caljouw JD ’91, to support its public policy programming.

Finally, in the first year of its recently completed strategic plan for 2013-2018, the

Rappaport Center successfully carried out many of its strategic initiatives. I. Major Accomplishments and Highlights

A. Major Public Policy Programs Hosted by the Rappaport Center

The Center presented, co-sponsored, or supported dozens of programs, panels, speakers,

and roundtables focusing on the intersection of law and public policy, careers in public service and public interest, and pro bono work and access to justice, drawing speakers and audiences not just from Suffolk University Law School students, faculty, and staff, but also from the other schools and colleges of Suffolk University, other academic institutions throughout greater Boston, and leaders, policy-makers, and attorneys in state and local government and public interest organizations. The Rappaport Center’s programming continued to contribute to and raise the Law School’s profile as an institution at the center of Boston and Massachusetts’s civic life. Below is a list of the major programs from 2013-2014. 1. Rappaport Roundtable: 2014 MA Governor’s Race

From January 15 through March 19, 2014, the

Rappaport Center held lunchtime roundtables with the nine declared candidates in the 2014 Massachusetts gubernatorial race: Don Berwick (D) on January 15; Joe Avellone (D) on January 21; MA Treasurer Steve Grossman (D) on January 30; Charlie Baker (R) on February 4; MA Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) on February 11; Jeff McCormick (I) on February 19; Evan Falchuk (I) on February 24; Mark Fisher (R) on March 3; and Juliette Kayyem (D) on March 19. Each candidate gave opening remarks, followed by audience Q&A and discussion. The roundtables were well attended – over 1,000 people came to Suffolk Law for this series – and were followed by multimedia coverage on the Rappaport Center website, including videos, photos, and articles, as well as

Rappaport Center Faculty Director Prof. Al Roberts and Attorney General Martha

Coakley, February 11, 2014

3 | P a g e

substantial press coverage. Photos from these events, with the Suffolk logo in the background, continue to appear in local media coverage of the campaign. The program was entirely funded by a gift from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

2. Rappaport Roundtable: 2014 MA Attorney General’s Race

Following the gubernatorial series, on April 10, 2014, Democratic candidates for Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey and Warren Tolman, outlined their goals and capabilities as the Commonwealth’s chief law enforcement officer during a lunchtime roundtable discussion (Republican candidate John Miller was invited but could not attend). A panel made up of Suffolk Law Professors Dwight Golann and Rosanna Cavallaro and MA Senate Counsel Alice Moore JD ’86, all former Assistant Attorneys General, asked the candidates questions about the role of the attorney general and how they would fill it. Approximately 150 attended this session, which was also followed by multimedia coverage on the Rappaport Center website, including videos, photos, and articles. 3. Health Care Reform II: The Affordable Care Act’s Effect on Employers

As a sequel to a program from the spring 2013 semester, on October 16, 2013, the Rappaport Center hosted “Health Care Reform Comes Home II: How the Affordable Care Act Will Affect Massachusetts Employers.” Moderator Michael Caljouw JD ’91, VP for Government and Regulatory Affairs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and a member of the Rappaport Center Advisory Board, moderated this

lively discussion. The diverse panel of speakers included Josh Archambault, Senior Fellow on Healthcare, Pioneer Institute; Audrey Gasteier, Director of Employer Policy, Massachusetts Health Connector; Brian Rosman, Research Director, Health Care for All; and Jean Russell, President and Founder, BenefitsMart LLC, and Director, Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters.

4. Responding to Hate on the Internet: The Law and its Limits

This panel of practitioners, scholars, and government officials held on November 4, 2013, co-sponsored by ADL-New England, discussed what individuals, businesses, and government can, should, and should not do to prevent the spread of hate on the Internet. Moderated by Suffolk Law Professor Robert Smith, the panel of experts included Jon Albano, Media Attorney, Bingham McCutchen; Linda Hamel, General Counsel, MA Information Technology Division; Robert Trestan, New England Regional Director, ADL; and Christopher Wolf, Co-Author (with Abraham Foxman) of Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet, Chair ADL National Civil Rights Committee.

Josh Archambault, Audrey Gasteier, Michael Caljouw, Brian Rosman, and Jean Russell

4 | P a g e

5. Mary Beth Tinker Addresses Marshall-Brennan Program

First Amendment advocate Mary Beth Tinker visited Suffolk Law on November 15, 2013, to discuss her fascinating story, free speech, and the positive impact youth can have when they make their voices heard. As part of the “Tinker Tour,” Ms. Tinker spoke to an audience of nearly 100 that included Suffolk Law students and high school students participating in the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project. 6. 6th Annual Pro Bono Award Ceremony and Reception

About 100 people attended the Rappaport Center's 6th Annual Public Service Award Ceremony and Pro Bono Program Reception on April 24, 2014, to celebrate public service achievements in the community and the pro bono work of Suffolk Law students. This year we presented our Public Service Award to William Sinnott JD ’85, Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston during Mayor Thomas Menino’s last two terms. A profile of Mr. Sinnott was published to coincide with the event. We also honored two members of the graduating class of 2014, Dyana Boxley and Nathan Olbeter, with the Pro Bono Program Student Awards for their dedication to public service and involvement in the community.

7. The State of Legal Aid in Massachusetts: Opportunities and Challenges On April 3, 2014, a panel including Jacquelynne J. Bowman, Executive Director, Greater Boston Legal Services; John J. Carroll, Jr., Chair, Equal Justice Coalition, and Partner, Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow; and Lonnie A. Powers, Executive Director, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, visited Suffolk Law to discuss the most pressing access to justice issues in the Commonwealth. This event was co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society Boston Lawyer Chapter, the Women's Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Bar Association. 8. Boston Mayoral Candidates Forum on the Environment, Energy, and Transportation

On July 9, 2013, nine of the

Boston mayoral candidates, including now-Mayor Marty Walsh, appeared at a Rappaport Center forum to discuss environmental issues in the City of Boston and how they, as mayor, would approach them. The program was co-sponsored by the Environmental League of Massachusetts and a coalition of energy, environmental, transportation, and innovation groups.

Mary Beth Tinker with the Marshall-Brennan Fellows and Prof. Robert Smith

Felix Arroyo, John Barros, Dan Conley, John Connolly, Robert Consalvo, Charlotte Golar Richie, Michael Ross, Bill Walczak, and

Marty Walsh

5 | P a g e

In addition to the major public policy programs discussed above, the Rappaport Center initiated, co-sponsored, or supported a number of other speakers, panels, events and programs. These are listed in Part II, Ongoing Activities and Operations, below.

B. Rappaport Center’s Major Public Policy Initiatives In addition to its traditional public policy programming, the Rappaport Center undertook two major new ventures this year to carry out its strategic goal of “innovating” public policy and to raise the Law School’s profile as a major player in the public service arena. 1. “Memo to the Mayor” Writing Competition for Massachusetts Law Students

Inspired by the dozens of policy proposals generated and debated during Boston’s 2013 mayoral race, the Rappaport Center issued this challenge to Massachusetts law students: Write a five-page memorandum identifying an innovation that would improve the quality of life in the City of Boston. Explain how the law could be applied or amended to implement that innovation. About 20 students from four law schools submitted papers. First prize of $3,000 was awarded to Conor Ahern, a second-year Harvard Law School student, who proposed a split-rate property tax. A second-year Suffolk Law student, Maurica Thomas, won second prize of $1,000 for her Pay-As-You-Throw solid waste disposal proposal. An additional second prize of $1,000 went to a member of the Harvard Law School class of 2014, Molly Cohen, for her proposal regarding Boston’s sharing economy. These proposals are posted on the Rappaport Briefing website. The winners met with Mayor Walsh on April 18, 2014 (see photo on page 1). 2. Government Lawyering Project Interviews Suffolk Law Alumni

The Rappaport Center is currently working on a project to profile 12 distinguished Suffolk Law alumni who are leaders in government. The object of this exercise is to celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni, to try to distill some of the “secrets” of being an effective government official, and to highlight how the education and contacts made at Suffolk Law were helpful catalysts. The end product will be a short print booklet (also available on line), with profiles, photos, and some connecting essays by Prof. Roberts and Mr. Massing.

Free-lance writer Jane Whitehead has completed profiles of six alumni and is in the

process of interviewing the balance of the following participants in the project:

Bill Sinnott JD ’85, former Corporation Counsel, City of Boston

Suzanne Bump JD ’88, MA State Auditor)

Barbara Anthony JD ’77, Undersecretary, MA Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation

Dan Conley JD ’83, Suffolk County District Attorney

Brendan Greally JD ’06, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Stephanie Siegmann JD ’97, Assistant U.S. Attorney

Doug Rice JD ’03, General Counsel, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation

Nakisha Skinner JD ’03, General Counsel, MA Department of Transitional Assistance

Rachel Kaprielian JD ’00, MA Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development

Rep. Alice Peisch JD ’79, State Representative, Chair, Joint Committee on Education

6 | P a g e

Setti Warren JD ’06, Mayor, Newton, MA

Anthony Benedetti JD ’93, Chief Counsel, Committee for Public Counsel Services This project is scheduled to be completed over the summer of 2014 to be ready for the next admissions cycle.

C. Public Service and Public Interest Career Advising and Related Programming

The Rappaport Center continued to serve as the Law School’s primary resource for

students and alumni to obtain public service and public interest career advice and opportunities. Through the Center, many students were placed in internships in state and local government agencies and legal services offices during the academic year and for the summer – often with financial support – providing opportunities that they might not otherwise have had, and improving their future prospects for meaningful employment.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, Director of Public Interest and Pro Bono

Programs Mia Friedman conducted over 150 formal career counseling sessions with students and alumni, and Executive Director Greg Massing conducted over 200 counseling sessions, for a total of over 350 formal career counseling sessions (up from 240 in 2012-2013) with individual students and alumni

All formal counseling sessions are recorded in the law school’s Symplicity system. In addition to these formal appointments, Rappaport Center staff interacted informally with hundreds of students to review cover letters and resumes; to discuss newly posted job, internship, or volunteer opportunities; to give advice on upcoming interviews; and to answer questions about applying for fellowships.

The Rappaport Center, alone or in conjunction with the Office of Professional and

Career Development (PCD) and Student Bar Association groups, also organized and presented numerous speakers and panel discussions to help students obtain and prepare for job opportunities and internships. A list of these programs appears in Part II, Ongoing Activities and Operations, below.

D. Pro Bono Program

The Rappaport Center’s Pro Bono Program had another highly successful year. During the 2013-2014 academic year, 82 students participated in the Pro Bono Program, completing over 9,750 hours of pro bono work. This number will likely more than double as students continue to turn in their pro bono work logs throughout the summer. (During the summer of 2013, 47 students completed over 11,000 pro bono hours.) A total of 179 students were enrolled in the Pro Bono Program throughout the year. Many student members who did not do pro bono internships this year did engage in other public service activities, such as volunteering with SPILG and participating in the annual Pro Bono Month celebrations (described below). Sixty graduating students received pro bono honors.

7 | P a g e

As in prior years, the Director of the Pro Bono Program and the Center’s Executive Director worked to help students identify interesting and valuable pro bono opportunities and to strengthen employer relations. During summer 2013 and the 2013-2014 academic year, students did pro bono work at approximately 90 different government organizations, non-profit agencies, and courts. Representative agencies include the American Civil Liberties Union, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, the Brazilian Immigrant Center, various District Attorneys’ offices, Greater Boston Legal Services, and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

During October 2013, the Pro Bono Program celebrated Pro Bono Month in four different ways. First, the Pro Bono Program, with the Boston Bar Association, co-sponsored its 5th Annual Pro Bono Fair for Attorneys and Law Students. The Fair was again a success, with more than 150 attorney and law student attendees. Those who attended the Fair had the chance to explore pro bono opportunities and network with approximately 30 different non-profit agencies. The Pro Bono Program also organized a service project with GLAD Answers, GLAD’s public information service. Five Suffolk Law students were trained to perform intake at GLAD in areas of the law such as LGBT anti-discrimination law, HIV/AIDS legal issues, transgender issues, and hate crimes. The Pro Bono Program also started a new project during October 2013. In collaboration with Professors Jessica Silbey and Rebecca Curtin and Fordham Law School, the Pro Bono Program launched a first-of-its-kind privacy education program aimed at engaging middle school students in discussions about privacy and its relevance in their lives. Last, the Pro Bono Program held a challenge event geared toward educating 1L students about the Program and encouraging them to get involved.

To round out the year, on April 26, 2014, the Center held the well-attended 6th Annual Public Service Award Ceremony and Pro Bono Program Reception. See I.A.6 above. The Center also continued to provide support for the annual Suffolk Public Interest Law Group Silent and Live Auctions.

The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project continues to be a key component of the Pro Bono Program.

the

February 1, 2014, local Moot Court Competition for high school students involved in the Project. The finalists from the local competition went on to a National Competition in Washington, D.C., and advanced into the final rounds. Ms. Friedman and Mr. Gavin also gave an orientation for new Marshall-Brennan Fellows, held an information session for new students interested in applying to the Project, and organized a year-end reception to celebrate the year’s successes.

Prof. Robert Smith and Assistant Dean Kim McLaurin with Marshall-Brennan Moot Court Competition winners

8 | P a g e

E. Rappaport Fellowship Program for Law and Public Policy

The Rappaport Fellowship Program for Law and Public Policy continued to be a cornerstone of the Center’s activities, allowing the Center and the Law School to work in conjunction with the five other Boston area law schools as well as Massachusetts and Boston area government leaders. The class of fellows for the summer of 2013 included Sean Tierney JD ’14 and Joe McCarthy JD ’15, as well as three students from Boston College Law School, one from Boston University School of Law, one from Harvard Law School, two from New England Law Boston, and three from Northeastern University School of Law. Their placements included the Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel and Cabinet Affairs, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance, the Department of Public Utilities, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, the Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Ninety students (up from 85 last year) from the six area law schools applied to be

Rappaport Fellows for the summer of 2014. Suffolk Law students David Chorney JD ’15, Julie Muller JD ’15, and Cara McCartin JD ’15, will intern at the Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel, the Civil Service Commission, and the Department of Youth Services, respectively. The summer 2014 fellows also include three students from Harvard Law School, two from Boston College, two from Boston University, and two from Northeastern. Their placements include the Attorney General’s Office, the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance, the Department of Public Utilities, Boston City Council (Councilor Michelle Wu), the Massachusetts Commission for LGBT Youth, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

The ongoing activities of the Rappaport Fellowship Program are discussed in Part II

below.

F. Other Fellowships; Suffolk Public Interest Law Group (SPILG) Program

In 2013-2014, the public service fellowships administered by the Rappaport Center

placed 82 students in paid fellowships to do public service work – 8 during the academic year and 74 over the summer of 2014. This amounts to approximately $225,000 of financial support to Suffolk Law students working in public service, not including the significant federal work-study contribution to the SPILG domestic fellowships.

Courtney Beal is the recipient of this year’s Thomas J. Drinan Memorial

Fellowship. Courtney will spend her summer working in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Alexandra Halprin is the recipient of the Paul R. McLaughlin Memorial Fellowship. Ali will also be interning this summer in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

9 | P a g e

Seven students were awarded Consumer Law Public Service Fellowships to do consumer rights and protection work at a variety of government and non-profit agencies this summer: Tiffany Johnson, National Consumer Law Center (NCLC); Alexander Zamenhof, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Department (HUD); Mara Stewart, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Housing Unit; Gabrielle Lomanno, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Antitrust Division; and Bridget Sarpu, Nicholas Dagenhart, and Kari Mitchell, all at the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR). The Rappaport Center also awarded Consumer Law Fellowships to a record eight students to work part-time during the 2013-2014 academic year. Miché Jean worked on consumer rights issues at Greater Boston Legal Services and at NCLC. Nicholas Wilson interned at the Securities and Exchange Commission, while Jonathan Burke was at HUD. Revina Svetlana and Mihael Donev worked at OCABR. Emely Portillo and Adela Kolar interned at the Boston Fair Housing Commission, and Andrew Chappell staffed Suffolk Law’s Fair Housing Testing Program.

Caroline Clair is the fourth recipient of the Donoghue Barrett & Singal, P.C. Health Law Fellowship. Caroline will work at Health Law Advocates for the summer.

As a result of the Suffolk Public Interest Law Group’s (SPILG) successful annual auction, SPILG is providing funding for 55 domestic fellowships and 6 international fellowships awarded to Suffolk Law students this year. Recipients of the domestic fellowships will work the following non-profits and government agencies this summer:

o Boston City Council o Boston Earned Income Tax Credit

Coalition o Boston Police Department, Office of

the Legal Advisor o Casa Myrna Vazquez o Colorado Attorney General’s Office o Committee for Public Counsel

Services o Delaware Department of Justice o Essex County District Attorney’s

Office o Georgia Capital Defender o Greater Boston Legal Services o Legal Advocacy and Resource Center o Massachusetts Attorney General’s

Office o Massachusetts Department of

Corrections, Legal Division o Massachusetts Executive Office of

Public Safety and Security o Massachusetts Office of Senate

Counsel o Middlesex County District Attorney’s

Office

o Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office

o Office of Massachusetts Senator Michael Moore

o Quincy District Court, Clerk Magistrate’s Office

o Rhode Island Commission on Human Rights

o Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General

o Rhode Island Public Defender o Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office o Suffolk University Law School’s Housing

Discrimination Testing Program o US Attorney’s Office o US Department of Health and Human

Services o US Department of Housing and Urban

Development o US Drug Enforcement Administration o US Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission o US Securities and Exchange

Commission

10 | P a g e

Two of our international fellows, Alvaro Aguirre and Aoife Conlon-Martin, will intern at the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, at UN headquarters in Manhattan. The four other international fellows will be interning at the Center for Disability Law and Policy in Galway, Ireland (Melissa Chen), the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague (Nashrah Rahman), the Center for Legal and Policy Research in Bangalore, India (Steven Treat), and the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town, South Africa (Camila Valenzuela).

The Center also worked with PCD to relaunch the Foley Hoag Centennial Fellowship. Two students, Emely Portillo and Christina Rich, each were awarded $1,250, which they will combine with work study in Christina’s case, and an Equal Justice America grant in Emely’s case, to do public service work this summer.

As mentioned above, three Suffolk Law students are participating this summer in the

Rappaport Fellowships in Law and Public Policy. Finally, three students were selected for the John E. Fenton, Jr. Public Service Awards, the law school’s public service fellowship for graduating students: Dyana Boxley JD ’14, Brendan Kennedy JD ’13, and James Matthews JD ’14. Dyana will be working at the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office; Brendan will be working as a staff attorney at the DNA1 People’s Legal Services at their Tuba City (Arizona) office in the Navajo Nation; and James plans to work in the fair housing field.

G. Rappaport Briefing

Under the direction of the Rappaport Chair, the Rappaport Briefing continued to provide

a forum for student-written commentaries on issues confronting state and local government in Massachusetts and profiles of Suffolk Law students and alumni engaged in public service. In fall 2013, policy commentaries written by two of the participants in the 2013 Rappaport Fellows program appeared, and in spring 2014, three commentaries written by Suffolk 2Ls and 3Ls in Prof. Roberts’s fall Law and Public Policy class were published. In addition, five of the 2013 Rappaport Fellows were profiled in the publication. The commentaries and profiles are available at http://www.rappaportbriefing.net.

II. Ongoing Activities and Operations

In addition to the highlights featured in Part I, the Rappaport Center routinely engaged

in a robust mix of activities throughout 2013-2014 in the areas of public policy programs, career advising, pro bono, fellowships, and communications.

A. Additional Public Policy Programming

In addition to the major public policy programs described in Part I.A above, the Center

presented, co-sponsored, or otherwise supported a number of programs, including the following:

1 DNA stands for the Navajo phrase “Dinébe’iiná Náhiiłna be Agha’diit’ahii,” which means “attorneys who work for the economic revitalization of The People.”

11 | P a g e

1. An Evening with Boston's Mayoral Candidates, John Connolly and Martin Walsh, and Professor Ed Glaeser – October 28, 2013

Rappaport Institute Faculty Director Ed Glaeser held separate one-on-one discussions with John Connolly and Martin Walsh, finalists in the Boston mayoral race, about the future of Boston and its economy. Co-sponsored by Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, and Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

2. Prof. Al Roberts hosted a number of high-profile state and local officials, all Suffolk Law alumni, as guest speakers in his fall 2013 Law and Public Policy class. Speakers included:

a. William Sinnott, City of Boston Corporation Counsel (Oct. 24);

b. Robert DeLeo, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (pictured at right) (Oct. 31); and

c. Suzanne Bump, State Auditor (Nov. 12).

3. New England Internet Protocol Transition Conference – December 3, 2013.

The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC), the Boston Bar Association, the Rappaport Center and a number of others co-sponsored three panel discussions and keynote addresses by Cameron Kerry, former General Counsel and Acting Secretary of Commerce, and John Burke, Vermont Public Service Board Commissioner.

4. Congress to Campus: Voting Rights and Polarization in Congress – March 5, 2014

Together with the Suffolk University Government Department, the Rappaport Center welcomed former members of Congress Sam Coppersmith (D-AZ, 1993-1994) and Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY, 2011-2012) and Rahsaan Hall, Deputy Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, to discuss voting rights and polarization. Moderated by Suffolk University Government Department Chair and Rappaport Center Advisory Board member, Rachael Cobb.

5. State House Day – March 26, 2014 In an annual event organized with the Student Bar Association, dozens of Suffolk Law students and alumni gathered for a tour of the State House and a reception with House Speaker Robert DeLeo and numerous other state legislators. 6. Symposium: Target Acquired? U.S. Foreign Surveillance, Civil Liberties and Data Privacy in the Wake of the Snowden Leaks – April 24, 2014 The Suffolk Transnational Law Review, with the support of the Rappaport Center presented its 2014 Symposium focusing on how U.S. surveillance programs (made public by

Speaker Robert DeLeo visits Prof. Al Roberts’s fall 2013 Law and Public Policy class

12 | P a g e

the Snowden disclosures) have affected U.S. foreign relations, and what legal and policy changes may be needed as a result. Professor Roberts moderated the discussion with a remarkable panel including Claude Moraes, Labour Member of the European Parliament and head of the EU inquiry into U.S. foreign surveillance programs; Peter Margulies, Professor of Law, Roger Williams University; Andrea Matwyshyn, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Senior Policy Advisor on Privacy and Security/Academic in Residence at the Federal Trade Commission; and Nathan Sales, Assistant Professor, George Mason University School of Law.

B. Career Advising

Throughout 2013-2014, the Center provided individual career counseling to students and alumni, planned and executed career services programming, and maintained and regularly updated a range of print and on-line career resources for students. Each Monday, the Center circulated an electronic newsletter to Suffolk Law students, giving them information about recently posted job and internship opportunities in public service and public interest, resources for training and job searches, and upcoming public policy programs and events of interest. In addition, Mr. Massing and Ms. Friedman meet regularly with government and public interest employers to cultivate job, internship, and other volunteer opportunities for our students. Ms. Friedman and Mr. Massing also interact with students on a daily basis to provide advice and assistance with pro bono projects and other activities related to the public interest world.

In addition, the Center presented and participated in a series of training events to help

students learn about opportunities in public service and public interest and to prepare themselves for these opportunities. Working together with the PCD, the Center organized and presented the following programs:

1. Career Orientation Program for 1L students – October 15, 2013 2. Government & Public Interest Recruitment Program – October 21-22, 2013 3. Government & Public Interest Recruitment Program – January 27-28, 2014 4. Multi-Service JAG Panel – April 16, 2014 5. Suffolk Side Up Thank You Breakfast for employers and alumni – April 24, 2014

Alone or in conjunction with other groups, the Rappaport Center also presented or supported these programs:

1. How To Effectively Apply/Compete for Federal Jobs - Wednesday, July 24, 2013 2. U.S. Attorney’s Office, DOJ Honors, and Summer Law Intern Program Information

Session – Aug. 13, 2013 3. Presidential Management Fellows Program Info Session – September 12, 2013 4. Committee for Public Counsel Services Info Session – September 19, 2013 5. Drinan and McLaughlin Fellowships Info Session – September 25, 2013 6. Post-Graduate Fellowships Info Session – September 26, 2013 7. Administrative Law Judge Training – September 26, 2013 (co-sponsored by the

Massachusetts Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA))

13 | P a g e

8. Pro Bono Fair for Attorneys and Law Students – October 28, 2013 (co-sponsored by the Boston Bar Association)

9. Rappaport Fellowship in Law and Public Policy Information Session – October 31, 2013

10. Career Opportunities and Diversity at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office November 7, 2013 (co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, the Latin American Law Students Association, the Lebanese American Law Students Organization, and the Irish American Law Society)

11. How to Become an Assistant District Attorney – November 21, 2013 12. Training Series: Supporting Multilingual Children and Immigrant & Refugee Families

– February 7, 2014 (co-sponsored by the Office for Refugees and Immigrants) 13. Practice Consumer Law – February 13, 2014 (co-sponsored by the National

Association of Consumer Advocates) 14. Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project Info Session – February 13, 2014 15. SPILG Silent and Live Auction – February 25-27, 2014 (co-sponsored by the Suffolk

Public Interest Law Group) 16. Criminal Ethics – March 11, 2014 (co-sponsored by the Attorney General’s Office) 17. Administrative Law Judge Training – April 30, 2014 (co-sponsored by DALA)

C. Pro Bono

Part I.D above presents the highlights and accomplishments of the Pro Bono Program.

The day-to-day operations required to maintain the program entail management of student enrollment; approval of students’ pro bono projects; recording students' hours; working with the Registrar and the Dean’s office on the Law School’s pro bono recognition system; regularly updating the pro bono opportunities on Symplicity and the web-based pro bono database, and providing students with weekly updates on pro bono opportunities. Additionally, the Program conducts significant ongoing outreach to and coordination with public interest and government employers.

D. Fellowships

The Rappaport Center administers eight public service fellowship programs – the Thomas J. Drinan Memorial Fellowship, the Paul R. McLaughlin Memorial Fellowship, the Consumer Law Public Service Fellowship, the Donoghue Barrett & Singal, P.C. Health Law Fellowship, the Suffolk Public Interest Law Group Fellowship, the SPILG International Fellowship, the John E. Fenton, Jr. Public Service Awards, and the Rappaport Fellowship Program in Law and Public Policy – and assisted with a ninth, the Foley Hoag Centennial Fellowship. As set forth in Part I.F, these programs offered Suffolk Law students a total of 82 paid fellowships to participate in public service internships during in 2013-2014.

2014 Pro Bono Fair

14 | P a g e

Administration of these fellowship programs requires the Rappaport Center to regularly update application materials and informational resources about each Fellowship program. In addition, the Center manages the entire application process, which entails answering student questions about the application process; coordinating and presenting fellowship informational sessions (for the Rappaport Fellowships, this entails holding an information session at each of the Boston-area law schools); collecting applications; coordinating the review of applicant materials by selection committees; planning interviews of finalists; notifying applicants of acceptance or rejection; working with the Financial Aid and Payroll offices to coordinate student payments; and organizing fellowship receptions.

1. Rappaport Fellowship The Rappaport Fellowship Program in Law and Public Policy is well known and highly esteemed in state and local government circles. It attracts high-caliber applicants from the six area law schools, and the selected fellows in turn make great contributions to the agencies who employ them. Maintaining the Program requires the Center’s sustained energies throughout the academic year.

The 2013 Program concluded with the closing dinner held at the Harvard Kennedy School on July 30, 2013. At the dinner, each of the 26 fellows briefly summarized their accomplishments over the summer. For the 2014 Program, the Center publicized the fellowship at all six Boston-area law schools. Coordinating with career centers at the law schools, Mr. Massing personally held information sessions at all six law schools throughout the fall. These efforts resulted in a total of 90 applications (22 from BC, 17 from BU, 9 from Harvard, 9 from New England, 9 from Northeastern, and 24 from Suffolk). Twelve exceptional students were selected, and Mr. Massing worked closely with them and with his contacts in state and local government agencies to find ideal placements. Their biographies, including their placements for the summer, are attached as Appendix A to this Report. Working with the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at the Harvard Kennedy School, which simultaneously selected 14 “Policy Fellows,” the Center has organized a substantial schedule of events and meetings for the Rappaport Fellows throughout the summer. The programming began with a “Hit the Ground Running” session on April 23 at Suffolk Law, and an opening reception held at the Charles Hotel on May 16. The rest of the summer programming includes weekly Wednesday evening sessions to enhance the fellows’ educational experience: meetings with Land Court Chief Justice Judith Cutler, former City Councilor and Advisory Board member Mike McCormack, and Julie Kobick, a former Rappaport Fellow who recently clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are on the docket for this summer. In addition, Mr. Massing has arranged for each Fellow to be matched with two mentors, one from the Center’s Advisory Board and another prominent attorney or practitioner in a public policy arena with expertise in the subject area in which the student is interested.

2014 Rappaport Fellows in Law and Public Policy

15 | P a g e

Many of the mentors are themselves former Rappaport Fellows.

Rappaport Fellows are required to produce a writing project at the end of their summer, discussing a public policy initiative they worked on during the Fellowship. In fall 2013, commentaries written by participants in the 2013 Fellows Program were published in the Rappaport Briefing.

E. Communications and Social Networking

The Rappaport Center maintains an email contact list using the “Mailchimp” email service. The Center sends out announcements of upcoming events, periodic newsletters, and, during the academic year, a weekly public service opportunity email intended primarily for Suffolk Law students. The Center has a total of 1,212 subscribers to its email list – up from 1,156 a year ago and from 890 in September 2011 when the email list was created. Subscribers may select the categories of email they wish to receive: 782 individuals subscribe to all mailings; 668, to coming events; 572, to newsletters; and 448, to weekly public service emails.

The Center also maintains an active Facebook page highlighting its activities, a Twitter feed to get the word about upcoming events and public service opportunities, and a web site to house resources, applications, and information as well as to post summaries and photographs, podcasts, and videos from our events. In 2013-2014, without a dedicated communications coordinator, Center staff did tremendous work to increase its presence Facebook and Twitter and to maintain its website. During the spring Rappaport Roundtable series, the Center received substantial assistance from the University’s Public Affairs and Media Services departments, from Jennifer Bonniwell of the Law School’s Marketing and Communications department, and from Regan Communications to capture and publicize the candidates’ appearances.

III. Recommendations, Goals, and Objectives for 2014-2015

During the 2012-2013 academic year, the Rappaport Center worked with the Law School and our external Advisory Board to develop a comprehensive five-year plan. The plan established a mission statement for the Center, which was included in last year’s annual report and now resides on the Center’s website. In addition, the strategic plan expresses a broad strategy loosely grouped under the terms “engage,” “innovate,” and “celebrate” public service. Under each category, the plan enunciates a number of specific strategic goals. Those goals, and the progress we made toward achieving them, are reported below:

i. “Engage” in Public Service

The Rappaport Fellows Program in Law and Public Policy

Goal: Involve Rappaport Fellowship alumni in more aspects of the Center’s activities, from acting as mentors to current Fellows, to planning and participating in the Center’s programs, and continually update the alumni data base with current contact and employment information.

16 | P a g e

Progress: We have done very well in involving more Rappaport Law Fellowship alumni in our activities. A number of former Law Fellows who had not previously been active in Center activities (Michele Scavongelli, Summer Zeh, Christine Foot, Cynthia Loesch, Tracy Coogan Plants, Benny Meshoulam, Ariel Soiffer, Lisa Conley, Paula Lyons, Julie Zobick) agreed to be mentors in the 2013 or 2014 Fellows Programs, while other former fellows (not including Advisory Board members) continued to be involved as mentors or supervisors (Matt Mazzotta, Melanie Manoach, Michelle Wu). Audrey Gasteier, a former Policy Fellow who attended the 2013 Red Sox networking event, was a speaker in our Affordable Care Act program in October 2013. Former Law Fellow and Suffolk Law alum Arthur Hardy-Doubleday attended and asked excellent questions at many of our Rappaport Roundtable events. In addition, we continued to research and update the list of former fellows and formed new LinkedIn and Google groups.

Goal: Increase applications from all Boston area law schools, with emphasis on schools with lower rates of applications.

Progress: In 2014 we experienced a 5.9% increase in the number of applications over

2013 (from 85 to 90). The response from Harvard Law School was particularly encouraging, with over 20 students attending the information session and nearly double the number of applicants (from 5 to 9). Three Harvard Law students were selected as Fellows for the 2014 program year, up from just one in each of 2012 and 2013.

Adjust stipends to account for inflation.

Progress: No progress in 2013-2014.

Pro Bono Program

Goal: Strengthen the Pro Bono Program by increasing the number, variety, and quality of volunteer opportunities and the training students receive.

Progress: During the 2013-2014 academic year, the Pro Bono Program added two new

projects supervised by faculty members. The Privacy Educators Pro Bono Project is supervised by Professors Jessica Silbey and Rebecca Curtin and is the result of a partnership with Fordham Law School’s Center for Law and Information Policy and other law schools. The project brings law students into middle schools to teach about on-line privacy basics, dealing with topics such as passwords, social media, and digital representation. The Project just completed a very successful pilot year at the Community Charter School of Cambridge and is now making plans for fall 2014. The second project, through the Suffolk Law Housing Testing Discrimination Program, allows students to receive pro bono credit for volunteering as testers under the supervision of Clinical Fellow Jamie Langowski. These volunteers assist the

Arthur Hardy-Doubleday JD ’11/2009 Rappaport Fellow

(with Executive Director Greg Massing) asks Don Berwick a

question at the Rappaport Roundtable: 2014 Massachusetts

Governor’s Race

17 | P a g e

program in studying trends in discrimination, identifying discriminators, and educating the community about the rights and responsibilities associated with the rental housing market.

Goal: Gather information about the quality of volunteer placements and the nature of

students’ experience, including its effect on employment and continued participation in public service after law school.

Progress: The Center has implemented mandatory evaluations of the placements by students as they submit their time logs for pro bono credit. Over 2013-2014, 92 students completed evaluations of their pro bono placements, up from just 22 surveys completed in 2012-2013. We have not had the resources available to systematically evaluate these responses.

Goal: Raise the visibility of the Pro Bono Program, especially the annual Public Service Award ceremony and reception.

Progress: The Advisory Board formed a subcommittee with the goal of establishing

criteria for the Public Service Award and helping to create broader interest. The subcommittee succeeded in the first part of its mission, but did not significantly contribute to the second goal. After the Center chose Bill Sinnott as the recipient, Advisory Board member Bill Kennedy publicized the award to his Nutter mailing list, which boosted attendance and directly resulted in the attendance of former Boston City Council President Larry DiCara and Governor Patrick’s Chief Legal Counsel Kate Cook, who introduced Mr. Sinnott at the event. Attendance at the event, both by members of the public and Suffolk Law students (drawn by student award recipients Dyana Boxley and Nathan Olbeter) was more than double the attendance in previous years.

Goal: Work with the Advancement Department to identify a permanent source of funding for Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project.

Progress: The Law School pieced together individual donors to fund the Marshall-Brennan program for 2013-2014 academic year. The Law School has not identified a permanent source of funding, let alone funding for next academic year. The Center has not been substantially involved in these efforts.

Other Fellowships and Career Services

Goal: Strengthen all the fellowship programs by gathering information about the quality of internship placements and the students’ experience, and increasing opportunities for participating students to interact with each other, with past fellows, and with leading practitioners in the relevant fields and specialties.

Progress: For the first time, students in all the fellowship programs were required to

submit year-end summaries of their summer placement and invited to submit commentaries for publication in the Rappaport Briefing. We have analyzed the results of the Rappaport Fellows’ reports from 2012 and 2013 and taken action to address the (few) suggestions for improvement. Students in the Consumer Law Fellowship were again invited to participate in the weekly seminars hosted by NCLC for its summer internship program, but otherwise this strategic goal provides much opportunity for improvement.

18 | P a g e

Goal: Work with PCD to centralize public service internship opportunities, including coordinating with PCD’s efforts to enlarge the First-Year Summer Internship Program.

Progress: Together with PCD we organized three resume collection sessions for public service summer internships. Employer and student participation were good. While there were some glitches, we have learned from the pilot year and will make adjustments for the next year.

Public Service Leadership Program

Goal: Obtain the necessary faculty approvals for the Public Service Leadership Program in the Fall 2013 semester and pilot the program during the Spring2014 academic year, with approximately 20 students (10 2L and 3L students and 10 1L students), with the hope of building the program in future years and ultimately obtaining recognition as an academic “concentration.”

Progress: We received the necessary approvals (from the Curriculum Committee and

the Faculty) to implement the Public Service Leadership Program.

We are in position to implement the program in fall 2014.

Goal: Increase Rappaport Center’s role in advising the Law School with respect to the public service curriculum.

Progress: No particular progress. The Law School removed Greg Massing from

membership in the Public Interest Committee, citing a desire to streamline its committees and include fewer administrators, although the Committee invited Mr. Massing to its meetings and relied heavily on his support of its efforts.

ii. “Innovate” Public Service

Goal: Continue to convene public policy programming around the traditional hallmarks of Rappaport Center events.

Progress: As described in detail in Part I.A.1 above, the Center carried out a highly

successful public policy programming agenda for 2013-2014. Goal: Increase the emphasis on crafting effective solutions to emerging issues and

providing lawyers with the knowledge and tools to implement solutions.

Progress: The fall 2013 programs on the Affordable Care Act and Internet hate speech were solution oriented. The spring 2014 candidate forums were, by design, not geared toward identifying solutions to issues as much as toward highlighting a wide range of policy issues and ideas.

Goal: Integrate policy events with Law School courses, faculty, and students, including pre-event lectures on the legal issues, post-event opportunities for student

19 | P a g e

involvement, and practice-oriented communications that encourage students and practitioners to capture lessons from the programs.

Progress: The October 2013 Affordable Care Act program was followed by posting a

wealth of resources on our web page. The Center would benefit from devoting more energy and resources toward follow-up and ancillary opportunities like this.

Goal: Increase the involvement of Rappaport Fellowship alumni, the Pro Bono Program, and the students participating in the Public Service Leadership Program, as well as Law School and University faculty, Suffolk Law alumni, and external stakeholders in the public policy and public interest community, in the design and implementation of programs.

Progress: As mentioned above, we have done a good job in incorporating former

Rappaport Fellows and Suffolk Law faculty in our programming. Much more could be done to incorporate students, faculty, and other stakeholders.

Goal: Increase the involvement of Advisory Board, with at least one Advisory Board meeting each year, presumably in the late Spring, set aside to discuss programs, specific subject matter, and speakers.

Progress: Under Scott Harshbarger’s leadership, the Advisory Board has increasingly

participated in our programming. In the fall we formed an Events subcommittee, which was instrumental in planning the gubernatorial speaker series and lining up the candidates to attend. Another subcommittee convened to conceive, implement, and judge the “Memo to the Mayor” competition. Advisory Board member David Paleologos provided a staff member to help with the initial publicity for the contest, and Board member Elissa Flynn-Poppey set up a meeting with Mayor Walsh for the winners. Finally, a subcommittee was created to help plan the Government Lawyering Project (see I.B.1 above); the subcommittee included Suffolk Law faculty in addition to Advisory Board members.

Goal: Leverage existing partnerships (e.g., ADL New England, OCABR), revive past partnerships (e.g., MassINC.), and develop new partnerships (e.g., law, communications, and government relations firms), to plan and publicize events.

Progress: We continued to partner with ADL New England, this time for the November

2013 Internet hate speech program, and with the Department of Telecommunications and Cable for the December 2013 Internet Protocol Transition conference. A newly formed partnership with the American Constitution Society, whose board includes former Rappaport Fellow Alistair Reader and Suffolk Law Professor Sharmila Murthy, has generated quality programming – with the March 2013 50th anniversary celebration of Gideon v. Wainwright, and this year with the April 2014 “State of Legal Aid in Massachusetts” event.

iii. “Celebrate” Public Service

Goal: Use a mix of traditional and new media to spotlight individuals or groups who have made contributions to public service by their work or scholarly contributions and to communicate our message about the importance of public service.

20 | P a g e

Progress: We have made great progress toward this goal. We have substantially

increased our activity and Facebook and Twitter. We added a “Celebrate Public Service” page to our website, where we posted many stories highlighting the achievement of Suffolk Law and Rappaport Fellowship students and alumni. The Government Lawyering Project, scheduled to be completed over the summer of 2014, will further contribute toward this strategic goal.

Goal: Increase the use of communications before and after public policy programs to extract and distill lessons learned.

Progress: The web materials from the Rappaport Roundtables provide an ongoing

resource for learning about the candidates and driving traffic toward our website. We have undertaken a campaign to re-publicize these materials through Facebook and Twitter. This communications effort, which required substantial contributions from other units of the Law School and University, serves as a model to be duplicated in future programming.

Goal: Invite media personalities to participate as speakers or moderators in policy events, and seek out media partners for specific programs and initiatives.

Progress: The University’s Public Affairs department and Regan Communications did

an excellent job of attracting media coverage to the Rappaport Roundtables in the spring. Similar efforts should be made in the future.

4. Measuring Success

The Center’s strategic plan listed a number of possible data points for measuring the

Center’s progress toward achieving its goal, characterizing the relative difficulty of implementing these measurements. During the 2013-2014, the Center did a good job of implementing most of the easier measurements. For example, we keep good records of participation in our fellowships and pro bono program, as well as instruments to judge the quality of those programs. As discussed above, a lack of resources has prevented the Center from evaluating some of these instruments. While all indications point to a successful public policy programming year in 2013-2014, we have only anecdotal data about how our programs were received. The Center could benefit from outside assistance in implementing some of the more difficult measurement tools.

Conclusion

The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service had a highly successful program year in 2013-2014, achieving or surpassing many of its strategic goals, and contributing strongly to the strategic goals of the Law School and the University. For 2014-2015, we plan to build on these successes and progress further toward the strategic goals outlined in our strategic plan and discussed in detail in this report.